Mr. Sam Barratt said that education has a central role in realizing the sustainable development goals, and young people are an important force for changing the world. It is necessary to strengthen international exchanges and cooperation among young students, and promote environmental protection based on education.

Mr. Bai Guoqing said that in the process of building Shanghai, young students are a vital force in promoting ecological environment governance and green, low-carbon, sustainable development.

Ms. Jiang Wei said it is the common responsibility for us to build a green and livable earth and open up a path of sustainable development. Xinhua News Agency is willing to provide more information and media support for sustainable development of human society to the global audience.

Mr. Zhang Guoxing said Agricultural Bank of China Shanghai Branch is willing to strengthen exchanges with experts and scholars from academic and industrial circles, enhance cooperation with all sectors of society, provide more robust, more sustainable, and higher-quality green financial services for the promotion of beautiful China construction.

Prof. Fang Shou'en said that Tongji University emphasizes sustainable development, which reflects the responsibility and commitment of the university. In the future, Tongji University will further strengthen the innovation and reform of the discipline of artificial intelligence-enabled environment and sustainable development, and further strengthen the communication and cooperation with the international community.

Sam Barratt gave a presentation on the theme of “Youth and the Future of Education”. He said that youth education is an important source of solutions to the triple crisis on Earth, and that nurturing young people was a guarantee for the future of the planet.

ISCES kicked off the Global Environment Solutions Challenge (GESC) in 2021. Students from all over the world are invited to form teams and submit innovative solutions to solve environmental problems.2024 GESC continued the theme of Solutions to Plastic Pollution, and offers four topics, namely, Solutions to Plastic Pollution and Human Health, Solutions to Plastic Pollution and Circular Economy, Solutions to Plastic Pollution and Climate Change, Solutions to Plastic Pollution and Zero-waste City.

This year, 136 teams comprised of 595 students from 60 countries and regions participated. 57 teams were selected to come to Shanghai for the semi-finals and finals. More than 10,000 observers participated in the online voting.

For this year's competition, experts from UN agencies, international organizations, domestic and international research institutes, and globally renowned companies formed the judge committee. They are: Mr. Sam Barratt, Chief of Youth, Education and Advocacy, UNEP, Mr. WANG Zhijia, Former Special Coordinator of UNEP, Mr. SHENG Fulai, Former Senior Economist, Former Head of Economics and Trade, UNEP, Prof. YANG Youlin, Regional Coordinator for Asia, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Mr. YING Sheng, National Officer of UN-Habitat China Office, Prof. Gerald Lange, Department of Technical Business Administration, South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences, Prof. Carmen Martin, Professor of Agricultural School, Polytechnic University of Madrid, Mr. QIAN Mingyu, Director, Environment and Circular Economy, GIZ East Asia, Mr. ZHANG Yimo, Programme Director of Ocean & Plastic, World Wide Fund for Nature Beijing Office, Mr. LIU Weiqing, Director of Technology and Innovation, ARKEMA Greater China, Ms. XU Ji, Corporate Office Sustainable Business Management - Regional Coordination, Bosch China, Mr. Alex Yu, Global Circular Economy Manager, Covestro APAC, Dr. Jan Harder, Vice Dean of Sino-German College.

Student teams from Nanjing Agricultural University, Tsinghua University, China University of Geosciences, Novi Sad University, Tongji University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Universitas Muravarman Indonesia, Fuzhou University, Henan University, University of Malaya, Sichuan Agricultural University, Donghua University and other universities were awarded.

The judges said that all the teams demonstrated rich and diversified creative ideas and proposed a series of solutions covering optimization of recycling routes, substitution of biological materials, high-precision monitoring, high-value recycling and other plastic pollution solutions, which not only demonstrated their profound professional knowledge and excellent practical ability, but also reflected the deep understanding and high sense of responsibility of young students towards the global environmental issues.

At the closing ceremony, Prof. Wu Jiang, Former Executive Vice President of Tongji University, Dean of UNEP-Tongji Institute of Environment for Sustainable Development made a closing speech. He said environmental problems are global issues that require people from all over the world to work together and help each other. Tongji University has been deeply engaged in the field of education and research on sustainable development for decades, and looks forward to more and more young people joining hands with Tongji and striving to create a new situation of sustainable development.

The conference ended with a performance by international students. The International Student Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development has been successfully held for 13 sessions，nearly 10,000 students from more than 60 countries gathering at Tongji University, which makes the event one of the most popular youth events on for the World Environment Day. It provides a platform for young students from all over the world to exchange views and discuss major environmental issues, as well as cross-disciplinary, cross-field and cross-border learning opportunities for students who are interested in environmental protection. The International Student Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development will remain true to its cause, providing a stage for the world's youth and a future for the global environment.